Christianity (a Historical Atlas)

By (author) Ryrie, Alec - Swanston, Malcolm; By (author) Ryrie, Alec; Maps by Swanston Malcolm
Short description/annotation
The spread of Christianity is arguably humanity’s most consequential historical epic. Christianity tells the tale through more than a hundred beautiful color maps and illustrations depicting the journey of Jesus Christ’s followers from Judea to Constantine’s Rome, wider Europe, and today’s world of two billion Christians practicing in every land.
Description

The dramatic story of Christianity from its origins to the present day, told through more than one hundred stunning color maps.

With over two billion practicing believers today, Christianity has taken root in almost all parts of the globe. Its impact on Europe and the Americas in particular has been fundamental. Through more than one hundred beautiful color maps and illustrations, Christianity traces the history of the religion, beginning with the world of Jesus Christ. From the consolidation of the first Christian empire—Constantine’s Rome—to the early Christian states that thrived in Ireland, Ethiopia, and other regions of the Roman periphery, Christianity quickly proved dynamic and adaptable.

After centuries of dissemination, strife, dogmatic division, and warfare in its European and Near Eastern heartland, Christianity conquered new worlds. In North America, immigrants fleeing persecution and intolerance rejected the established Church, and in time revivalist religions flourished and spread. Missionaries took the Christian message to Latin America, Africa, and Asia, bringing millions of new converts into the fold.

Christianity has served as the inspiration for some of the world’s finest monuments, literature, art, and architecture, while also playing a major role in world politics and history, including conquest, colonization, conflict, and liberation. Despite challenges in the modern world from atheism and secularism, from scandals and internal divisions, Christianity continues to spread its message through new technologies while drawing on a deep well of history and tradition.

Review quote
Christianity has a geography as well as a history, and this book embraces both… These maps are full of detail and give a clear and integrated visual picture of the events described…The atlas is elegantly produced on glossy pages that make it attractive and readable.
Review quote
Informative to read and attractive to look at.
Biographical note
Alec Ryrie is a prizewinning historian of the Reformation and Protestantism. He is the author of Unbelievers: An Emotional History of Doubt and Protestants: The Faith That Made the Modern World. Ryrie is Professor of the History of Christianity at Durham University and Professor of Divinity at Gresham College, London.